MN Collaborative Plan for Children who are Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing

Minnesota spends millions of dollars per year on health, education, human services and vocational preparation for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing children from birth through age 21. It is hard to know if the money and time spent really improves our children's lives. We need a clear plan on how to make sure that all children with hearing loss, including deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing, are caught on time -- nobody is missed or overlooked -- and given the right services for development so that they can graduate and become successful in life. This summer in July, advocates, parents, and agency representatives met to develop the Collaborative Plan. This plan has 3 goals related to age groups, and for each goal there are specific objectives/targets for tracking and measuring students' progress. This plan was not developed by 1 person or 1 organization -- it has many partners, like for example, parents, teachers, Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf, Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens, Minnesota Hands & Voices, Minnesota DeafBlind Technical Assistance Project, MN Department of Education, and many others. The collaborative partners will meet again on November 2 to discuss and finish this plan so that we can start to use it next year (2012) to work together and help our children succeed, but we need your help. We want your feedback. Please read the plan and give your feedback on 1, 2, or all 3 of the goals -- whichever ones match your interests. We can't finish this important plan without you! Thank you for your time and help.